So many of us go to work, do what we’re paid to do, punch out, and go home. But are we truly happy? Studies suggest most people aren’t — even though they pretend to be. On the other hand, if you exhibit a majority of the following traits while you’re at work, the odds are good that you not only enjoy your job — but you’ve also picked a career that’s right for you:
You Go the Extra Mile Without Being Asked
People who love their jobs don’t have to be asked to do something. Their overall sense of job satisfaction makes them more efficient; so they breeze through tasks because they don’t view them as chores. They appreciate that what they put off today will have to be done tomorrow. And they recognize that good things come to good employees who go above and beyond. Cynics call them “brown-nosers,” but eventually they end up calling them “boss.”
You Put in Extra Hours to Get Things Done on Time
People who are halfway to the parking lot as soon as that clock strikes 5 p.m. aren’t helping their coworkers who are stuck picking up the slack — and it’s not the best strategy for getting a raise or promotion either. The good news is it’s possible to put in extra time to get things done correctly and by the deadline, and still manage to enjoy a decent work/life balance.
You Encourage and Recognize the Work of Others
You know there’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’ and understand that encouragement and praise helps keep everybody motivated. You let people know that you appreciate them and all of the hard work they do. When people feel like they’re being positively recognized for their efforts, it’ll show.
You Share the Credit
People who are happy at their place of employment realize that it takes a village to keep all the parts moving. They understand that even when they’re working alone on a project, there are bound to be at least a few people who helped them along the way whether it’s a secretary, assistant, coworker, or an intern — which is why they always say “thank you” when the time comes to solidify their status as a team player.
You Speak Positively About Your Job Outside The Office
You know that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. People who love their jobs never badmouth it — or any aspect of it — and instead find positive solutions to conflicts that arise. “Outside of work, they become great brand ambassadors for your company. They talk to their friends, families, and strangers about the work they’re doing and even say that they ‘love’ their jobs,” says Shayleen Stuto, talent coordinator for TechnologyAdvice.
You Steer Coworkers Toward a Path of Success
If you’re successful at what you do, you should want other people to be successful too. People who love their jobs are eager to help their coworkers get a leg up by mentoring them, offering assistance if they have time, helping them catch up after a few days out of the office, checking in from time to time to make sure everything is on track personally and professionally, and speaking positively about them to superiors. They understand that when the whole team is successful, so are the individual players — not the other way around.
You Learn New Skills to Enhance Your Performance
You eagerly embrace learning new skills because it makes you better at what you do. You also understand that advancing the company cause through your own continued education sends a message to your superiors that you care about your company’s progress and growth, and that you want to be a catalyst for that. As Stuto notes, for people who love their jobs, “Reading articles and books relevant to their position, or attending industry events and seminars aren’t chores, but areas of enjoyment and learning.”
You Inspire Others to Perform Better
People who love their job aren’t afraid to show it — in all aspects of their performance. “People who love their jobs are passionate about them,” says David Niu, CEO and founder of TINYpulse. “They come to work with a great attitude that inspires others around them. Their passion shows in the quality of their work. And when people are content and passionate about their professional life, it flows into their personal life as well.”
Photo Credit: CrinkleCrackle.com
When you’re happy at work, you’re happier in life. If you find yourself with a smile on your face or find that laughing comes easy, even if you’re not in the office, you can often look at your happiness at your job as a big part of that. After all, you’re spending roughly 25% of your time at work in a normal 40-hour week, so your happiness at work has a very big effect on your overall state of mind and well being.
I think your list really applies best to jobs in larger organizations. Where I work management’s top priority is building up their team, even ahead of ‘bottom line’ quarterly profit numbers. They recognize that over the long term, a happy cohesive and productive team is much more valuable than what appears on an accounting statement. I’ve worked here long enough to recognize how we got there.
Most of your points boil down to an employee who is willing to put the team’s success ahead of his or her personal interests. We get this first by very careful hiring. We actually avoid the superstar Heisman trophy winners– instead we aim to find talented people who would rather own a Super Bowl ring. For fresh grads we aim for a solid “B” grade average and lots of curiosity, and for experienced hires we look for those who have built a solid expertise– and carry just the right amount of ego.
Another part of this management style is the subtle use of peer pressure to ‘nudge’ teams towards business ends rather than managing by edict. I’ve seen brilliant strategies on paper fail miserably due to lack of buy-in from the team members. Some consider meetings to be an unproductive waste of time, but this is how our team finds its course, and the goal of management is to help the team set its direction towards the needs of the business.
Finally we keep a compressed association between span of responsibility and status. Managers here don’t govern by authority, they wield influence by their ability to serve the team. New kids get the window offices, seniors sit in the middle, and managers are relegated to the dark closets. Most of those who are not in management see it as a lot more work for a relatively small bump in pay, so we don’t have much competition for management slots (in fact we find them hard to fill). This atmosphere enhances team cohesion because there is nothing to gain by backstabbing or stealing credit.
So if you’re wondering why you don’t see more of these 8 telltale signs in your organization, you might try some pages from our management’s playbook.